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Zhao Dong, Bitcoin billionaire and one of China’s biggest OTC traders, has taken to WeChat to opine on the industry. He predicts no thaw of crypto-winter this year, but says now is the best time to stock up and hodl.

The Public Chain Alliance Crossing The Bulls And Bears Elite Team

Dong made his comments in the WeChat group for ‘The Public Chain Alliance Crossing The Bulls And Bears Elite Team’. One can only hope that sounds better in Chinese.

He said that obviously fewer people are following bitcoin now than during 2017’s bull run, hence the natural price drop. Furthermore, he suggested that these people would not start paying attention again until the price returns to tens of thousands.

For most people, if they don’t pay attention to Bitcoin now, they won’t pay much attention to most of the time, so for them, only how many tens of thousands of bitcoins will break them will be noticed again. If you and I believe in the future of Bitcoin, so it is best to hold as much as possible when nobody cares.

A Man For All Seasons (Except Autumn)

When asked about industry trends, he said that for 2019, everyone should just try to have a good winter. 2020 would bring the spring, he thought, with summer not expected until 2021. Incidentally, back in November 2018, Dong predicted a bitcoin price of $50,000 by 2021, on microblogging site, Weibo.

He explained his rationale for investing, and why to buy in a bear market, thus:

In the bull market, I don’t persuade people to buy Bitcoin, because it seems easy to make quick money but in fact it is not. Now [in the bear market], I start to talk people into buying Bitcoin.

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times

Back to 2019, Dong cautioned not to be too optimistic or pessimistic, saying that more companies and projects would die. However, he went on to say that some hope will be born of it because the next wave of projects will emerge from this period.

This, he said, would make 2019 both the best time and the worst time for entrepreneurs and investors. Despite the deaths of more companies and projects, good projects are cheaper to invest in. And entrepreneurs can take advantage of competitors at their lowest point.

Dong signed off with a simple piece of advice for investors and entrepreneurs alike:

The only thing you need is patience.

…only in Chinese, obviously.

Do you agree with Dong that patience is key? Share your thoughts below!

With events like SEC approval for Bitcoin ETFs and the introduction of cryptocurrency derivatives, it is easy to imagine the market being driven by news out of the United States. However, new research suggests that Asia, and not the West, is the dominant driver of Bitcoin price and cryptocurrency markets.

Western Focus Might be Misleading

Jay Clayton, the Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commented back in June 2018 as part of his comments about the Commission’s stance on whether cryptocurrencies where securities or not, saying:

We’ve (the SEC) been doing this for a long time, and we’ve built a $19 trillion economy, a securities market that is the envy of the world, following these rules.

While it is true that the Western hemisphere exerts a lot of dominance over the mainstream asset market, the same doesn’t necessarily apply to Bitcoin and the altcoin market. However, it isn’t unusual to see US-based “trading experts” to argue that things like the CME and CBOE BTC futures are driving Bitcoin price 00.

According to Mosaic, a cryptocurrency data and research firm, developments in Asia exert a significantly greater effect on the virtual currency market than the ones from the Western part of the globe.

The research firm says there have been 11 major news developments from Asia concerning cryptocurrencies. These headlines impacted the market by an average of 18.61 percent.

The most significant of these developments came at the beginning of the year when CoinMarketCap removed data from South Korean exchanges. According to Mosaic, this singular event crashed the market by more than 57 percent.

Back in mid-2018 when BTC price rallied from $6,200 to $8,000, many commentators pointed to news coming out of Asia. At the time, wealthy Chinese citizens turned to Bitcoin as a haven as the government accelerated the devaluation of its currency.

Asia Dominates Mining and Cryptocurrency Exchange

To start with, Asia dominates both the mining and exchange landscape. Even with the crackdown by China, other places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea are hotspots for numerous cryptocurrency exchange platforms and related businesses.

Why is this information relevant? Well, apart from the apparent trading volume conclusion, there is also the language component. These Asian exchanges make sure their services are offered in their local languages, bringing trading closer to the local population. With relatively cheaper electricity, the region (especially China), is still a dominant player in the bitcoin mining industry.

Earlier this year, Arthur Hayes, CEO of Hong Kong-based BitMex platform, said that crypto trading in Asia is more developed than in the West.

“Asia dominates cryptos because they’re very used to digital trading assets. South Korea has been trading digital goods related to gaming for two decades. When you move to a purely money based digital currency, they understand that culturally, so they get on board quickly,” he said. Therefore, it stands to reason that news out of that region would have a much greater sway on the market than in the US and Europe.

The researchers conclude that due to the “pivotal role” Asia plays in cryptocurrency, “investors seeking a better idea of what drives crypto prices would do well to look East.”

Will an influx of US-based institutional investors shift the tide of dominance towards the Western hemisphere? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below.